The Department of State announced Friday it will withhold all funding for the U.N. Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, also known as UNRWA. In a statement, it called UNRWA's business model unsustainable.

The UNRWA serves Palestinian refugees from the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and their descendants — more than 5 million people. Foreign Policy reports Kushner hopes the cuts will discourage the "unrealistic expectation" that refugees will someday return to a future Palestinian state.

The German foreign minister has already announced his country will increase funding for UNRWA in response, warning the loss of the agency could destabilize the region.